


chasing down a daydream

by preciousthings



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band), One Direction (Band)
Genre: First Kiss, M/M, babysitting!!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-01
Updated: 2013-07-01
Packaged: 2017-12-16 18:11:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/865055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/preciousthings/pseuds/preciousthings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>michael helps harry babysit lux.</p>
            </blockquote>





	chasing down a daydream

**Author's Note:**

> i blame [courtney](http://kushandzouis.tumblr.com) and michael for making a vine of lux. i don't own anything, unedited, all mistakes are my own. title from "i see the light" by zachary levi and mandy moore (it's relevant i swear)

early on, michael learns that days off can be really boring. like, more boring than any other day he spends doing nothing. he’s in the eighth hour of nothing but little big planet, halo, and call of duty, and as much as he likes playstation, it’s boring as hell now. luke and calum are at the cinema or something on a date that they refuse to call a date, and ashton is with caspar, so he’s all alone now. he gets up when he’s sure he can’t sit any longer without food, and he stares at the near empty fridge for almost five minutes before closing it and and sighing.

he pulls his phone out and scrolls through his contacts until he stops on harry’s. he wants to, he really wants to, and yeah, it’s been a while since they’ve texted (or seen each other, really) but michael doesn’t want to be the that stupid clingy friend he’s sure he already is. when did his life get to the point where he wastes ten minutes staring at the contact of one-fifth of the world’s biggest boyband, debating whether or not he should text him. ignoring the part of his brain screaming _NO THIS IS BAD_ , michael starts typing out a text to harry.

> _what’s going on in the exciting life of a popstar today? (sorry this is really clingy and annoying) x_

michael wants to slap himself or bang his head on the refrigerator door or something because that was so _stupid_ and he wants to take it back already. who allowed him to text popstars? he’s that clingy and annoying kid with a crush and he really doesn’t want to be.

harry texts back a lot faster than michael expects.

> _Heading over to Lou and Tom’s now to pick up Lux. Babysiting tonight. Real exciting, yeah? What are you up to, emo? .x_

and a minute later.

> _You’re not clingy or annoying, shush._

michael grins at his phone screen like an idiot, before texting back.

> _oh, just dying of boredom and starvation at the same time nbd_

> _Want me to pick you up one the way back from Lou’s? I’ve got a baby who demands more attention than I have. And I can’t have my favorite little emo dying on me, now, can I? ;)_

> _if you have food i’m sold_

> _Pizza okay? Was gonna order in. x_

> _ready whenever text me when you’re here xx_

michael looks down at his outfit; black track pants, and a hoodie he got in belfast, and decides he’s just too lazy to change. it’s only harry ( _only_ harry, who he may or may not have a slightly massive crush on). harry texts him twenty minutes later that he’s outside and michael scribbles a quick _at harry’s hanging out with him and lux -mikey_ on a hot pink post-it and sticks it to the tv. someone will find it there. he hopes they will, at least. before he leaves the house, he locks the door and all but runs to harry’s range rover.

"long time, no see, emo." harry says after michael’s climbed into the passenger seat.

"still calling me an emo, i see. so nothing’s changed, then. same annoying harry." michael jokes.

"someone doesn’t seem too happy to see me,"

"nah, i’m here for the baby."

~

"harry!" lux exclaims when harry takes her out of her carseat and holds her.

"do you remember michael?" harry asks her, points at michael, who’s leaning against the passenger side door. michael smiles and waves a little.

"mikey!" lux yells, and michael can’t help the smile that breaks out on his face. he ducks his head in hopes that harry won’t see it.

"wanna hold her?" harry asks michael. he must’ve seen the way michael’s face lit up when lux said his name. michael just nods, and harry hands lux over to him before going to unlock the door. he’s gentle with lux; he’s never done this before. never had a baby brother or sister or cousin to help take care of. lux is definitely the first. once he’s holding her in what he thinks is the right way to do it, lux wraps her arms around michael’s neck, and michael heads inside harry’s house.

"michael. is. cool." she giggles, repeating something he’d told her to say backstage before a show once. “michael is cool," she repeats.

"she’s inflating your ego, clifford." harry quips.

"michael is cool!" lux says again.

"no, harry, she just thinks i’m cool."

"i think that too," harry murmurs, disappearing into the kitchen. michael hears his voice again a second later saying, “you’ve been here before, so you know where everything is, just, like. make yourself at home?"

michael puts lux down and she starts running up the stairs. “i guess i’m going upstairs with her?" michael yells from halfway up the stairs.

"try not to get too overwhelmed!" harry yells back, “she’ll drive you crazy fast!"

michael follows lux down the hall, into the last room, all the way at the end of the hall. it’s harry’s room, he knows it. harry didn’t say anything about _not_ going in there, so he assumes it’s okay, but lux must do this often, because she’s already climbing on harry’s bed and jumping on it.

"are you sure you can do that, lux?" michael asks, sitting down cross-legged on harry’s bed.

"yes!" lux giggles and continues to jump. “mikey, jump!"

"no, princess, i’m too big to jump."

"harry jumps!" lux bounces and lands on michael’s lap. “blue," she makes grabby hands at michael’s hair. “it’s blue. mine’s yellow."

michael laughs, “‘s really pretty, luxy. mine was yellow too but your mommy made it blue."

lux crawls out of michael’s lap and starts jumping around again. she picks up harry’s pillow and struggles to throw it at michael, with it being only a bit bigger than she is. michael laughs, and it’s only then he notices harry watching them in the doorway. he’s smiling softly and he’s— _blushing_? he might be blushing. michael’s just going to forget about that for the time being because if he is blushing there’s nothing about michael that harry would blush over.

"you’re creepy," michael comments over his shoulder before lux hits him in the face with the pillow again. michael reaches for lux and starts tickling her tummy until she’s giggling and squirming out of his hands.

"mikey, stop!" lux giggles, gasping to catch her breath as michael keeps tickling her.

"here we observe the emo in rare form," harry finally speaks up, slipping into an announcer’s voice, “he’s laughing, smiling, and genuinely enjoying time with a baby."

“ _stooooop._ " michael whines. “you are absolutely unbearable. you know that?"

harry sits on the edge of his bed, next to michael. “no, you love me." he winks. michael ducks his head to hide the way he blushes fiercely at the comment. there are butterflies in his stomach and he just wants to shout _YES, YES I DO,_ and kiss harry senseless. he doesn’t think that’s an option, so he kind of just pushes the feeling to the side and hopes maybe one day it’ll go away. today is not that day.

"yeah, totally," he settles on joking. it’s safer. “d’you plan on giving me food at any point, or did you just bring me here to starve to death in your house instead of alone in mine?" michael changes the subject quickly.

"you only want me for my food," harry pouts. lux hits harry with the pillow and laughs as she falls into michael’s lap.

"no, i want you for more than your food, but right now i really want your food. or i might actually die. like i’ve said in the past."

"i ordered pizza, calm down. should be here in a few. if you can get her to quiet down enough to watch a movie, you’d be my hero right now. i’m just. really, really tired."

"hey, princess," michael whispers in lux’s ear, “wanna go downstairs and watch a video? we can go on the couch and harry will put on whatever movie you want to see."

"yes!" lux exclaims, jumping out of michael’s lap. she’s fast down the hallway before michael can even think about getting off harry’s bed. harry looks at him, jaw dropped, and michael can’t help but smile at that.

"that was easy," michael smirks.

"cocky little shit," harry grins. “we should probably follow her; make sure she doesn’t trip down the stairs or something."

"your bed’s comfortable though. i don’t want to get up." michael says.

harry wraps a hand around michael’s bicep (his _hands_ , god) and starts pulling him off the bed until michael eventually has to stand up so he doesn’t fall. “up. there we go. can you walk or do you need help with that too?"

"you can barely walk yourself, styles. don't think i don't notice you on stage. don't even try to blame the smoke machine, it's all you." michael smirks, and walks out of the room. he hears harry yell, "heeeeeeey" from his room. lux is sitting at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for him and harry and michael thinks it’s one of the cutest things he’s ever seen. she’s just sitting on the floor, legs crossed, a stuffed puppy in her lap, pouting up at michael. when he reaches the bottom of the stairs, he scoops her up into his arms and she giggles loudly.

"hi mikey," lux grins.

"lets go pick a movie, okay? can you promise me that you’ll be a good girl when we watch? no running around or yelling."

"promise."

"good girl," michael kisses lux’s cheek. he puts her down when they get into harry’s basement. harry comes down a minute later, pizza box in-hand.

"she already ate. ‘s just you and me, mikey." he says. michael watches him with lux, then, the way he bends down to her height even though he’s like, _giant_ , talks to her, lets her pick a dvd to put on. she picks _tangled_ , and michael’s not really ashamed to say he’s seen it more than once already.

neither is harry, apparently. “she makes me watch it with her every time she’s at my place. ‘m pretty sure i could quote most of the movie at this point." harry explains.

~

_@Michael5SOS: i’m sitting on @harry_styles couch eating pizza and watching tangled with a baby is this what popstar life is really like_

~

lux watches the movie intently, like she’s never seen it before. 

"mikey," lux pokes his shoulder, "can i be her?" 

"i thought you already were a princess?" harry speaks up from the other side of the couch. 

"princess lux." she giggles, and turns back to the movie. 

at a certain point towards the end of the movie, harry nudges michael's shoulder and says, completely overdramatically and in-sync with the movie, "you were my new dream." and michael really has no choice but to come back with a just as overdramatic, "and you were mine." it's so ridiculous, but lux is giggling at them and harry's got this dumb fond look on his face and. yeah, that's a thing that happened. 

this is, hands down, the weirdest night of michael's life.

it gets weirder. michael didn't think that was possible. but it is apparently, because right after rapunzel's magical teardrop brings flynn back to life, harry nudges michael again, and, on cue with the movie, leans in and kisses michael. and like, that was unexpected. he kisses back though, because what else is he supposed to do? harry pulls back first, blushing. 

"harry kissin' mikey!" lux exclaims. michael feels his cheeks heat up 

michael is more than just a little shocked, and spends the rest of the movie trying to pull himself together. he doesn't know what the  _hell_ just happened, but that's not saying he didn't want it to happen. he definitely wanted it to happen. it's just. he doesn't know if harry meant it, or if he was just mocking the movie, and he's certainly not going to ask right now. 

~

when the movie ends, lux slides off the couch until her feet hit the ground and says, "sleepy." 

harry crouches down to her height and asks, "time for bed, princess?" lux nods and rubs her eyes with the hand that's not currently holding her stuffed puppy.

michael follows harry up to the guest room with lux in his arms, and sets her down on the bed once harry's pulled the blankets down. michael sits on the edge, and lux stands to kiss michael's cheek, and then harry's. 

"come on, luxy, lay down. time to go to sleep. me and mikey will both be here when you wake up." harry whispers. 

"light on," lux yawns, pointing at a nightlight plugged in, but not switched on. michael crosses the room and switches it on. harry pulls the blankets up over the little girl, and she grins sleepily, "g'night, harry. g'night, mikey." 

michael smiles and says, "night, princess." as harry switches off the light, and closes the door behind him. 

it's just the two of them now, no baby to distract either of them anymore. michael knows they need to talk about what happened, because he doesn't think anything between them will be they same if they don't at least clarify that the kiss was just mocking the movie (if that's all it even was). "i'll, um, i'll just take the couch in the basement?" michae says, awkwardly.

"do you wanna like-- we can share my bed? if you don't mind that. i don't want you to sleep on the couch."

well. michael doesn't expect that. "yeah, i don't mind. that's fine." he says, because as weird as things may be right now, he'd be lying if he said he wouldn't want to sleep in the same bed as harry styles. 

the silence they fall into is comfortable, and it isn't until michael's already in bed, half under the covers, that harry speaks up again. "michael,"

"yeah?" michael sits up and looks at harry through his fringe. 

"what happened before, is that okay? are  _we_ okay?" harry asks, and it kind of hits michael like a speeding truck. he didn't think they would have this conversation tonight,  _right now_ , when michael is too tired to function properly. he doesn't even know how to respond to that. yes? i don't know, are we? 

"you kissed me." is what he settles on.  _smooth_. 

"yeah. you kissed me back." harry says, and they're just stating obvious facts now. 

"i did," michael starts, "but was it like-- were you, like, mocking the movie or something? because like, we quoted it and whatever, and then you kissed me and i thought maybe--" harry cuts him off.

"i meant it. that was a really bad way for a first kiss to happen, but i meant it. and i really hope you did too." 

"i did." michael smiles. 

harry leans in and presses his lips to michael's. this time michael deepens it by flicking his tongue over harry's bottom lip, and licking into his mouth. 

"we're gonna do this?" harry asks once they're both laying down, harry's chest pressed to michael's back and an arm thrown over his torso. 

"we're gonna do this." michael smiles. 

he falls asleep thinking that today has officially been the weirdest and best day off he's ever had.

~

michael wakes up the next morning to harry pressing soft kisses to the back of his neck. he rolls over and kisses harry. "hi," he whispers, voice rough with sleep.

"hi yourself," harry laughs. "sleep okay?"

"better than i have in days."

the door to harry's room creaks open then, and lux tiptoes in and climbs up into harry's bed. 

"morning, lux." harry says.

"hi harry! hi mikey!" she giggles.

"hi, luxy." michael smiles. 

"do you want breakfast?" harry asks the little girl. she nods, and harry contiunes, "go downstairs and i'll be in the kitchen in a few minutes, okay?" 

she nods, hops off harry's bed, and skips down the hallway. 

"you're good with her, you know. you're gonna be a really good dad one day," michael tells harry.

"you are too, mikey."

~

when lou comes to pick lux up an hour later, the first thing lux tells her is, "mummy, harry and mikey were kissin'!" and michael can't help the way he blushes at that. 

"really, now, were they?" lou asks, looking from harry, to michael, back to harry. michael and harry both nod and smile at the same time, harry not once taking his eyes off michael, and lou says, "you two are real cute." 

and when michael turns to go back into the kitchen, he doesn't miss lou tell harry, "take care of mike, he's a good kid. really likes you." 

when harry comes back, he wraps his arms around michael's waist from behind and michael thinks, yeah, he could get used to mornings like this.

**Author's Note:**

> so i think this is kind of meh, but i hope you liked it! x


End file.
